With the Baby Boom generation aging, the care of older adults is becoming an increasingly important issue and challenge to many Americans.

In May, leading geriatric care specialist Courtney H. Lyder, ND, GNP, FAAN, dean of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Nursing and assistant director for academic nursing for the UCLA Health System, will speak to Fairfield University nursing students and faculty, and area nurses about caring for older adults, part of his three-day visit to the School of Nursing.

Fairfield University's School of Nursing places an importance on geriatric nursing care and end of life curriculum, so Dr. Lyder's visit to the School is seen as a great opportunity for students to meet with a national leader in improving patient safety in hospitals, with a particular emphasis on seniors. Dr. Lyder, 44, is a senior consultant to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he has influenced development of regulations and policies related to care of elders.

Jeanne Novotny, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing, said, "It is a great honor to have Dr. Lyder meet with our students, faculty and area nurses. His important work in the areas of caring for older adults, patient safety, and wound care has been nationally recognized."

Sponsoring Dr. Lyder's visit is Transcon Builders, a manager of assisted living facilities and nursing homes where Fairfield nursing students do clinical rotations. While at Fairfield, he will speak to nurses from several Transcon facilities, including Greenwich Woods, Wilton Meadows, Candlewood-New Milford and Hamden Health Care Center. On Saturday, May 22, he will meet with School of Nursing graduate students as part of their graduation festivities, and he will speak to undergraduates at the School of Nursing pinning ceremony.

Dr. Lyder, a registered nurse, is in great demand as a consultant, both within the nursing home industry and in training state regulators charged with enforcing the regulations. One of his key interests is identifying early indicators of tissue damage that could help identify pressure ulcers, or bedsores, before they become a problem. "Nurses talk about leadership and making a difference," he said in a UCLA publication. "It's very gratifying to see how something you are doing affects 16,000 nursing homes nationwide."

Dr. Lyder, who is a leader in promoting diversity and in translating scholarly work into clinical practice, was appointed professor and dean of the UCLA School of Nursing in 2008. Before then, he was an endowed professor of nursing and a professor of internal medicine and geriatrics at the University of Virginia. From 1994 to 2003, he served on the faculty at Yale, where he directed programs in adult, family, women's and elder care.

Dr. Lyder has received, as a principal investigator or co-investigator, nearly $22million in research and training grants related to gerontology and wound care. He has been published extensively. He co-wrote (with Sheila L. Molony and Christine Marek Waszynski) the book, "Gerontological Nursing: An Advanced Practice Approach" (Appleton & Lange, 1999).

Posted On: 05-10-2010 10:05 AM

Volume: 42 Number: 290